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⚠ When the Catheter Changes, the Base ResetsModerate threat

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) — threat to the moat

Pulsed field ablation resets hospital choices, and Abbott's Volt is its first US offering in the technology.

The switching cost in electrophysiology protects Abbott only as long as the technology stays the same. A platform change gives every hospital a reason to look again at the system it uses, because staff must be retrained anyway.

Abbott Medical Devices comparable sales growth by line, Q2 2026 (%)13.4Electrophysiology9.5RhythmManagement9.0Diabetes Care8.7Heart Failure5.7StructuralHeart5.1Vascular1.2NeuromodulationAbbott Q2 2026 earnings release, Medical Devices sales table
Electrophysiology leads the device lines for now.

Pulsed field ablation is such a change. Abbott described its Volt approval in December 2025 as bringing its first pulsed field ablation offering to US patients1. A first offering in a technology is an entry, not an incumbency.

The segment's risk factors say the same thing in general terms: competitors' products "may be safer, more effective, more effectively marketed or sold, or have lower prices or superior performance features"2. In a procedure where the doctor chooses the catheter, that is the whole contest.

Abbott is investing in the change. At the Heart Rhythm Society meeting in April 2026 it presented late-breaking data from four trials across its pulsed field and conduction system pacing portfolios3, which is the evidence a heart team asks for before switching.

Reported growth will flatter the line for a year. From January 2026 the Amulet device counts in Electrophysiology, which moved $101 million of first-half 2025 sales across from Structural Heart4. The comparable figure strips that out, and it is the one that shows whether Volt is winning procedures. Abbott spent $2,942 million on research and development in 20255, part of it to keep this platform current.

So far the numbers are good: electrophysiology grew 13.4% on a comparable basis in the second quarter of 20266. The falsifier is a reversal in that number. Two consecutive quarters of electrophysiology growth below 8% would say the installed base is being lost at the change of technology, which is when installed bases usually are lost.

References
  1. ReportedAbbott described its Volt approval in December 2025 as bringing its first pulsed field ablation offering to US patients.
    Abbott Laboratories fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - fourth-quarter sales by segment, the Nutrition decline and strategic price actions, continuous glucose monitor sales growth, adjusted EPS of $5.15, the Volt PFA approval and 2026 guidance. — FY2025 · publ. 22 January 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe segment's risk factors say the same thing in general terms: competitors' products "may be safer, more effective, more effectively marketed or sold, or have lower prices or superior performance features".
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2025 (year ended 31 December 2025) - Item 1A risk factors, competition, regulation and legal proceedings. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedAt the Heart Rhythm Society meeting in April 2026 it presented late-breaking data from four trials across its pulsed field and conduction system pacing portfolios, which is the evidence a heart team asks for before switching.
    Abbott Laboratories second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - sales by segment and business, comparable growth, income statement, specified items, guidance and the 410th consecutive quarterly dividend - Medical Devices sales by business, continuous glucose monitors, Amulet and TECTONIC. — Q2 2026 · publ. 16 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedFrom January 2026 the Amulet device counts in Electrophysiology, which moved $101 million of first-half 2025 sales across from Structural Heart.
    Abbott Laboratories second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - sales by segment and business, comparable growth, income statement, specified items, guidance and the 410th consecutive quarterly dividend - Medical Devices sales by business, continuous glucose monitors, Amulet and TECTONIC. — Q2 2026 · publ. 16 July 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedAbbott spent $2,942 million on research and development in 2025, part of it to keep this platform current.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2025 (year ended 31 December 2025) - consolidated financial statements: income, taxes, cash flow, dividends, repurchases, debt, goodwill and the critical accounting policy on rebates. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedSo far the numbers are good: electrophysiology grew 13.4% on a comparable basis in the second quarter of 2026.
    Abbott Laboratories second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - sales by segment and business, comparable growth, income statement, specified items, guidance and the 410th consecutive quarterly dividend - Medical Devices sales by business, continuous glucose monitors, Amulet and TECTONIC. — Q2 2026 · publ. 16 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated October 6, 2026